ROME’S LEGIONS

Special Exhibition from March 30 until November, 3 2019

Tiny Tin Romans (Re-)Claim Kalkriese!

What did a Roman legionnaire’s everyday life look like? How long were his daily marches, where did he sleep, what was on his menu, and how much luggage did he carry with him? Answers to these and other questions can be found in the new special exhibition ROME’S LEGIONS, which will take place at Museum und Park Kalkriese from the end of March until the end of October 2019.

The focus of the exhibition presented in German and English is on dioramas with thousands of hand-painted tin legionnaires, whose faithfulness to detail and fidelity to the originals evoke a vivid picture of the everyday life of Roman legionnaires in the first centuries A.D. Among other exciting features, visitors will see a complete legion with a total of 5,300 legionnaires on a scale of 1:72, i.e. a height of 2.8 cm per legionnaire.

A special highlight are also the numerous interactive stations, where large and small legionnaires can put on Roman armor made true to the original, train their fighting skills on the pole or grind their own ration of grain – touching and participating are welcomed!

The special exhibition illustrates life in the Roman army in a playful and authentic way. About 2000 years ago, the Roman Empire stretched – at the height of its power – from the Atlantic to Asia Minor and from the north coast of Africa to the North Sea. Within a very short period of time, huge areas were conquered and controlled, creating an unprecedented dominion. This successful history of expansion was made possible by the imperial legions. Their organizational structure, high-quality and standardized equipment and not least their adamant discipline made the Roman army (almost) invincible. These aspects of their success are the subject of the special exhibition.

The exhibition “Rome’s Legions” was created in cooperation with the organizer Mules of Marius, whose renowned traveling exhibition has already captivated visitors in Great Britain, Poland and Austria, mostly due to its authenticity – of both the model figures, the life-size illustrations of Roman legionnaires by well-known British illustrator Graham Sumner as well as due to the authenticity of shield and armor replicas, which are all based on historical sources and archaeological finds.

>> Public guided tours of the special exhibition take place on Sundays and public holidays at 4:00 pm.